Right so i just got a mid to low spec laptop and its completely bare apart from XP and Firefox atm.

I haven't started from scratch in a LONG time so i'm kinda behind what shit i should get.

Is AVG still free?
What programs can i not live without and so on.

I'll e using the laptop for internet, GMing, GWing, Makking music (recording and sequencing), a bit of gaming (but not much).

So yeh can i get suggestions on what softwares and games to grab?

oh and how do i take off that goddamn 'ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO OPEN THIS PROGRAM NOT MADE BY MICROSOFT COZ ITS GONNA DESTROY YOUR COMPUTER IF YOU DO?' resolved

Get Malware Bytes and CCleaner. They never screwed me over.
Other than that, I dunno. I just have that and some games on this computer.

7-zip
daemon tools lite
k-lite codec pack
probably office 2003 lite if you're not going to do much office stuff on there (it's tiny, and just in case)
nod32 (antivirus)

these are the programs i always install. the more often you format the shorter the list becomes

hey can we make this for NEW MAC too??

i would assume the list is different. halp!

just download all the mac specific programs and you'll be sorted. both of them.

good stuff so far, keep 'em coming

you know... sometimes less is more

probably want mirc and utorrent

completely forgot those ^

i forgot winamp as well. i was thinking 'hmm it seems to be kinda quiet here i wonder why'

I use VLC for movies and stuff
Uhh.... gimp

???

got both of them, ta

tuneup utilities
chatzilla (plugin for firefox to irc)
Audacity?
adobe reader

whats tuneup?

got audacity

http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/

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hey can we make this for NEW MAC too??

i would assume the list is different. halp!

go ahead and download Toast now, you'll be glad you did when you end up needing it.  it'll handle all your dvd burning, ISO stuff, all that business

also get Caffeine, it's a program that will keep your macbook from dimming or falling asleep when you don't want to, you'll find this very helpful when your laptop is plugged in and especially if you're watching videos on it, it's just a little icon in your bar that lets you turn it on or off

Quicksilver will let you assign a key combination to bring up a box where you can start typing the name of a program or file and hit enter to open it.

I use Openoffice for all of my text-document work, but I've also recently found Writeroom which basically blacks out your screen leaving you to type without distraction.

Besides that, just get your normal stuff.  VLC, Firefox, Audacity, etc.  A lot of major programs have Mac releases too, but you can pretty easily find alternatives to most programs with no Mac release by just googling for them, there will always be results from forums or articles about "(name of program)-like program for the Mac".

make sure you've got the latest generation IM smilies and the coolest screensavers

make sure you've got the latest generation IM smilies and the coolest screensavers

oh you bet i got dems b4 ne1 ls init

i saw this ad and klikd it ina flash i didnt wana mis out

install weatherbug to let you know what the weather will be like outside
install bonzai buddy in case you get lonely

hey can we make this for NEW MAC too??

i would assume the list is different. halp!

MS Office - if you're using this computer for school or work, don't bother with any of the 'alternative' office suites like openoffice or iwork. MS Office is something you will need.
Firefox - da web
GIMP(or photoshop if you're going to be doing any PRO IMAGE shit)
Roxio Toast - CD burning software, if you ever deal with CD image files at all, you'll want this
Parallels with a copy of Windows XP - There'll be times when you need windows, using this in combination with spaces will allow you to instantly switch over to a windows environment by pressing the F8 key. I'd recommend 3-4 GB or ram for this though.
VLC - This will play almost any video file you come across
Fetch - FTP software
Transmission - Bittorrent
UnRarX - for RAR files

Everything else pretty much comes with the computer: Mail, iLife, iTunes, etc.